AP targets 43 lakh ha acreage in kharif season: Official

Hyderabad, Jul 10 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh government is targeting an acreage of about 43 lakh hectares in this kharif season against last years total of 38 lakh hectares on the back of good moonsoon this season. The government would also be focusing on increasing area under cultivation of pul

Hyderabad, Jul 10 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh government is targeting an acreage of about 43 lakh hectares in this kharif season against last years total of 38 lakh hectares on the back of good moonsoon this season.

The government would also be focusing on increasing area under cultivation of pulses in view of shortage of lentils in the country, a senior official said here today. "As of now, things are going on well in kharif. As per the weekly report, as on June 5, sowings took place in 10 lakh hectares as against 5.6 lakh heactares last year. By any means, compared to last three years, it is a good progress," State Agriculture Commissioner Dhanunjaya Reddy told PTI.

"We are expecting better rains in August, September than June-July. We are hopeful that this time it will be a good season. We are targeting about 43 lakh hectares for this Kharif season. Last time, it was about 38 lakh hectares," he said.

Except Srikakulam and Nellore districts, remaining 11 districts have received excess rainfall from June 1 to July 6, according to official data.

The excess rainfall in June has led to brisk sowing of groundnut and pulses in dry land areas, including Rayalaseema region (Kadapa, Chittoor, Kurnool and Anantapur districts), Reddy said.

In an innovative measure, the government for the first time has got pulses sown as a pre-kharif season crop under about 50,000 hectares in Nagarjuna Sagar and Krishna delta region as it rained in May and June.

"This was done as water cannot be given to the regions till August owing to irrigation reasons. The crop will be completed in about 90 days (by August)," the official said. The farmers readily agreed to the idea as they had a bad last Kharif and Rabi seasons and seeds were supplied on a subsidy, he said. The department had planned fertilisers, micro-nutritients seeds distribution in advance for the Kharif. (MORE) PTI SJR ARS MR RDS

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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